Thread-guiding means



July 23, 1929. i H'UFFORD 1,722,219

THREAD GUIDING MEANS Filed Oct: 18 l928 Patented July 23, 1929..

IIARRY J'.HUFFORID, 0F SCRAN'LGN PEIIIISYLVANEA.

THREAD-GUIDING MEANS.

Application filed Getober 18, 1928.

Spooling and analogous machines are provided with thread cleaners andwith thread-guiding eyes usually disposed above and below said cleaners.More or less unscrupulous attendants are in the great majority of casesemployed for operating such machines and they are paid according totheir daily output. This output is much greater if the thread is notengaged at all ith the thread cleaner and hence it is quite common tofind the thread running along the outer side of the cleaner body insteadof between the thread-cleaning blades. When this is discovered, theattendant merely contends that the thread jumped out of the cleaner andplaces it back, and there is no evidence to the contrary. It is theobject of my invention however to provide new and improvedthread-guiding means easily threaded at a single operation with passingthe thread between the cleaner blades, when said thread is held taut attwo vertically spaced points and rearwardly moved in a verticalplane.Movement of the thread in this manner cannot'fail to pass it between thecleaner blades and the guiding means is so constructed that if thethread be moved in some other plane, in an attempt to thread the guideswithout engaging the thread with the cleaner, said thread cannot movefully into said eyes without special manipulation of said thread. Hence,whenever the thread is found passing around the thread cleaner but fullyengaged with the guide eyes, it is known that the attendant deliberatelythreaded said eyes but not the cleaner, it being assumed of course thatthe cleaner blades are sufliciently long so that there is no possibilityof the thread jumping out from. the space between them. Hence, anyoneguilty of passing the thread around the cleaner instead of through itfor her own benefit, can be easily detected and proper steps taken.

With the foregoing in View, theinvention resides in the novel subjectmatter herein after described and claimed, description beingaccomplished by reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an assemblage embodying a thread cleanerand two of the improved eyes disposed respectively above and below thesame.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of one of the eyes.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation.

Fig. 4- is a bottom plan View.

Serial No. 313,341.

Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section on the plane indicated by thelines 5 5 of Figs. 2, 3 and i.

Fig. 6 a front elevation of theassemblage shown in Fig. 1 illustratingthe thread in two inclined planes and contacting with the edges of thecleaner instead of being engaged withit. When rearwardly moved in eitherof these planes, the thread cannot be fully engaged with the guidingmeans at a single operation, for reasons hereinafter clescribed.

In the drawings above briefly described, 8 denotes an appropriatesupport to be-se cured to the frame of the machine by fasteners passedthrough openings O. The support S is provided with a horizontal'forwardly projecting portion H carrying two thread. scraping blades 6having closely spaced parallel inner edges for engagement with thethreadT. Secured to and projeeting forwardly from the support S, respectivelyabove and below the bl2Ld8$ 'b, are two thread-guiding eyes Gr, eache1nbodying a head7 at the front end of an attaching shank 7*. As theconstructions of both guides are identical, only one will be describedin detail, and it may here be'explained that in so describing the guideand in claiming. it, such terms as front, rear, vertical, upper, lower,below, and downwardly, are to be con sidered as relative rather thanlimiting, as the eye could obviously be used in various positions.Without definite terms however, a clear explanation could not be given,and hence such expression as those enumerated, have been adopted.

The head 7- embodies a relatively long forwardly projecting arm 8 and acompara tively short forwardly projecting arm 9, the two arms beingclosely spaced to receive the thread therebetween and extending in ahorizontal direction. The inner side of the arm 8 istransversely curvedconvexedly as shown at 10 in Fig. 5, and at its front end, saidinnerside is curved outwardly as at 11. The relatively shortarm 9 isdownwardly wid ened as indicated at 12 and the downwardly projectingportion of this arm is provided with a rearwardly directed finger 18which is spaced slightly from the inner vertical side 14 of said arm 9,said fingeracting as a guard to prevent the thread from lashing out ofthe space 15 between the rear ends of the arms 89. The outer sides 16-17of the arm portion 12 and the finger 13 are convexedly curved as seen inFigs. 5 and 6, and these sides are also longitudinally curved as seen inFigs. 2 and 4, the longitudinal curvatures meeting each other at a nose18 shown in a number of the views. The upper side 20 of the finger 13 istransversel curved and mer es raduall into the inner side 14 of the arm9, and said side 20 is spaced slightly from the curved inner side 10 ofthe arm 8 to permit passage of thread between the two.

When the thread T is held taut between two points A-B and isrearwardlymoved in a vertical plane, it may be at a single operation passedbetween the cleaner blades 7) and engaged with both of the eyes G. Thenmoving the thread in this manner, it comes in contact with the curvedportion 11 of the arm 8 and the curved portion 17 of the finger 13 aswill be clear by reference to the arrow 21 of Fig. 2-. Then, as thethread is 'moved rearwardly, it follows along the curved inner side 10of the arm 8 and the curved outer side 17 of the finger 13 andeventually snaps behind the latter into the space 15. This same travelof thread takes place in connection with the upper and lower guide G andsimultaneously with threading of these eyes in this manner, the threadis engaged with the blades 6 of the thread cleaner. If an attendantattempts to thread either or both of the guides G without engaging thethread with the cleaning blades 6, she is prevented from doing so at asingle operation but must necessarily manipulate the thread to fullyengage it with the guide or guides. If the thread is held taut betweentwo points A-B (Fig. 6) and moved rearwardly in an inclined plane, itcan enter between the finger 13 and the arm 8 and be received in thespace 15. However, the thread cannot then snap behind the finger 13 andbecome fully engaged with the guide. Hence, 7 if the thread is foundrunning around the thread cleaner and fully engaged with the eye, it isknown absolutely that it was deliberately threaded in this manner. Inthis connection, considering the thread held between the points A-B ofFig. 6, it will be obvious that by exerting inward and rearward pressureon the thread as indicated by the arrow 22, it could be engaged fullywith the eye, but only in this manner can this full engagement of threadand eye be effeeted. Hence, if the thread be found running around thecleaner but still fully engaged with the eye, it is known that theattendant went through this special manipulation of the thread todeliberately engage it with the eye and not with the cleaner.

If the thread be tightly held between the two points A-IB of Fig. 6 andrearwardly moved in an inclined plane, attempting to thread the eyewithout threading the cleaner, said thread will come in contact eitherwith the curved portions 11l6 or with the curved portion 17 and willconsequently be deflected without entering the eye at all. Hence, if thethread be found fully engaged with the eye and running across therighthand side of the cleaner, it is again known that said thread wasdeliberately threaded in this manner.

The immediately preceding description has been given only in connectionwith the uppermost of the guide eyes G but the same difficulties areencountered in attempting to thread the lower eye without at the sametime threading the cleaner. The attendant may at a single operationthread both eyes and the cleaner, as intended but if she beunscrupulous, pass the thread around the cleaner and engage itby'manipulation with the eyes, it is known that this was not accidentaland adequate steps may be taken to see that there is no repetition ofsuch practice.

I claim 1. In an assemblage of the class described, a rigidly mountedthread cleaner having spaced opposed scraping edges, and a rigidlymounted eye spaced from said cleaner, said eye embodying a guide intowhich the thread may be fully passed at a single operation when heldtaut and rearwardly moved in a plane between said edges, and meansbarring complete insertion of the thread into .said guide at a singleoperation if held taut and rearwardly moved in another plane in an atempt to thread said eye without threading said cleaner.

2. A thread guiding eye comprising a head embodying two forwardlyprojecting horizontal arms in close relation with each other to receivethread therebetween, one of said arms being downwardly widened andhaving on its lower portion a rearwardly turned finger spaced slightlyfrom its inner side, said finger being also spaced slightly below thelower side of the other of said arms.

3. A thread guiding eye comprising a head embodying a relatively longhorizontal arm and a comparatively short horizontal arm both projectingforwardly in close relation with each other to receive thread there-HARRY J. HUFFORD..

